Gatham filmmaker Kiran Kondamadugula’s next, ID is a big hit in the festival circuit, bags 37 awards

Gatham was one of the biggest successes in the Telugu OTT space when it released directly on Amazon Prime Video in 2020. The film that earned rave reviews from viewers across the globe upon its release, recently began streaming on Netflix as well. After the success of Gatham, the team behind the film is uniting for yet another unconventional thriller titled ID.

Shot completely in the US in Los Angeles and California, ID, directed by Kiran Kondamadugula stars Rakesh Galebhe, Bhargava Poludasu, Sneha Murali, Sumitra Tatapudy, Ross Turner, Anirudh Kasturi in key roles. The thriller is bankrolled by Harshavardhan Prathap, Bhargava Poludasu, and Subhas Ravada of Chitrom Entertainments US.

While the film is gearing up for a release later this year, it is already a massive hit at the festival circuit. ID has officially bagged 37 awards in festivals held across the globe in addition to 31 official selections, 5 honorable mentions, and 4 nominations.There have been multiple screenings of ID in North America and going by the response, the team looks set to recreate the magic of Gatham again.

ID is next making its debut soon at the Oakville Festivals of Film and Art, which is the Canadian Screen Awards equivalent to the Oscars. For its technical finesse and its screenplay, it recently won awards at the Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival too. Sricharan Pakala scored the music for ID while it was edited by noted technician Chota K Prasad. The crew also includes cinematographer Horacio Martinez (ASC Mentee), production designer Caterina Piccardo (MFA). The DI was wrapped at Annapurna Studios and sound design at Sync Cinema.

Beyond a screenplay with spine-chilling elements, the film is also ambitious in other ways, which convinced us to come on board, the producers said. Rakesh Galebhe shares that the first script reading session sent chills down his spine. “I could only wish characters like these can exist in Kiran's world but not in reality. Not many actors are lucky enough to play a character like this in the early stages of their careers,” he statted.

Bhargava Poludasu claims that the character he plays, Dev, is super flawed and quite in contrast to the role he played in Gatham. “Dev’s vulnerability coupled with an in-your-face attitude makes an instant connection with the audience. And then to top it all, Dev gets thrown into extraordinary situations you don't often see in Telugu films. I hope I did justice to it.”

Director Kiran Reddy Kondamadugula mentioned that the script was born of a question that intrigued him - What if he woke up one day and no one recognised him? “While the premise is creepy, the movie sways between mystery and thrilling moments keeping the audience glued to the proceedings. My highly talented teamworked with incredible passion in bringing the finesse to my vision,” he added.